Hong Kong
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she won’t seek second term
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who survived massive protests against her government in 2019 and oversaw the implementation of a tough national security law that quashed dissent, said Monday she will not seek a second term.
Her successor will be picked in May.
“I will complete my five year term as chief executive on the 30th of June this year, and I will also call an end to my 42 years of public service,” Lam said at a news conference.
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Speculation had swirled for months about whether she would seek another term, but she said that her decision had been conveyed to the central government in Beijing last year and was met with “respect and understanding.”
Massive protests against the territory’s government rocked Hong Kong in 2019 including calls for Lam to step down. Beijing responded in 2020 with a tough national security law that has stifled dissent in the semiautonomous Chinese city.
Hong Kong media say that her No. 2 John Lee is likely to enter the race to succeed her. Chief Secretary Lee was the city’s head of security during the protests.
Hong Kong’s leader is elected by a committee made up of lawmakers, representatives of various industries and professions, and pro-Beijing representatives such as Hong Kong deputies to the China’s legislature. One of the unfulfilled demands of the 2019 protests was direct election of the city’s chief executive.
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The city was initially slated to hold the chief executive election on March 27 but the poll were postponed for six weeks until May 8 in light of the city’s worst coronavirus outbreak.
Lam said that holding the polls as originally scheduled would pose “public health risks” even if a committee of only 1,462 people is involved.
Hong Kong’s COVID toll leads some to eco-friendlier coffins
Hong Kong’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak has cost about 6,000 lives this year – and the city is now running out of coffins.
Authorities have scrambled to order more, with the government saying 1,200 coffins had reached the city last week with more to come.
Space constraints make cremation a common burial practice in the densely populated island territory off the Chinese mainland, and the coffins typically are wood or wood substitutes.
To answer the shortage of them due to the COVID-19 toll, some companies are offering alternatives such as an environmentally friendly cardboard coffin.
LifeArt Asia has cardboard coffins made of recycled wood fiber that can be customized with designs on the exterior. In its factory in Aberdeen, a southern district of Hong Kong, up to 50 coffins can be produced a day.
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CEO Wilson Tong said there is still some resistance to using caskets made of cardboard. “(People feel that) it’s a little bit shameful to use so-called paper caskets. They feel that this is not very respectful to their loved ones,” Tong said.
But he noted the company has designs that can reflect religion or hobbies and the coffin can even have a personalized color. “So it gives more than enough sufficient choices to the people, and so that they can customize the funeral and offer a more pleasant farewell without the fear of death.”
The company says its cardboard coffins, when burned during the cremation, emits 87% less greenhouse gas compared to those made of wood or wood substitutes. Each LifeArt coffin weights about 10.5 kilograms (23 pounds), and can carry a body that weights up to 200 kilograms (441 pounds).
Hong Kong has reported about 200 deaths daily on average over the past week as many elderly residents who were unvaccinated die from COVID-19. The surge has put a strain on mortuaries, and refrigerated containers are being used to temporarily store bodies.
Amid the rising toll, non-profit Forget Thee Not, which advises people on their choices for last rites, bought 300 cardboard coffins and caskets to either send to hospitals or give to families who need them.
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“We have been promoting environmental-friendly and personalized funerals. Now we see that Hong Kong needs more coffins. There are not enough coffins for the bodies in our hospitals,” said Albert Ko, a board director at Forget Me Not.
Ko said some of the elderly who discussed their last rites with the organization have been open-minded and welcoming to the idea of eco-coffins.
“We hope to take this opportunity to contribute as well as promote eco-coffins,” he said.
Hong Kong orders mandatory COVID-19 tests for all residents
Hong Kong will test its entire population of 7.5 million people for COVID-19 in March, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as it grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the omicron variant.
The population will be tested three times in March, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said.
She said testing capacity will be boosted to 1 million a day or more.
“Since we have a population of some 7 million people, testing will take about seven days,” she said.
Hong Kong has reported about 5,000 new daily infections since Feb. 15, with the number threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system. Since the current surge began at the beginning of the year, the city has recorded nearly 54,000 cases and 145 deaths.
The order for citywide testing comes after mainland Chinese authorities dispatched health workers and medical resources last week to help contain the outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Lam also said that the city’s isolation facilities are “severely inadequate” and that it is “working very hard with the full support of the central authorities” to build more facilities.
Current social-distancing measures, such as a ban on dining at restaurants after 6 p.m., will be extended until April 20.
“This is not good news to the sectors affected, but really at this stage of the pandemic we have no choice but to take these measures,” Lam said.
She said the city hopes to boost its vaccination rate to 90% by early March.
Hong Kong to cull 2,000 hamsters as some test COVID-positive
Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday that they will cull some 2,000 hamsters after several of the rodents tested positive for the virus at a pet store where an infected employee was working.
Officials said they would also stop the sale and import of the rodents in the city. The move came after the pet shop employee tested positive for the delta variant on Monday. Several of the hamsters tested positive for the coronavirus as well.
Even though authorities acknowledged that there is “no evidence” that pets can transmit the coronavirus to humans, as a precautionary measure, customers who had purchased hamsters from the affected store after Jan. 7 will be traced and must be subject to mandatory quarantine.
They must also hand over their hamsters to authorities to be put down.
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Authorities said that all pet stores selling hamsters in Hong Kong must cease operations and that around 2,000 of the small animals will be culled in a humane manner.
Customers who bought hamsters in Hong Kong from Dec. 22 will also be subject to mandatory testing and are urged not to go into the community until their tests have returned negative.
For now, authorities said they would not rule out transmission between human and animals.
Hong Kong police on Monday arrested two former flight attendants for allegedly leaving their homes when they should have been in isolation for possible coronavirus infections, which were later confirmed.
The two arrived from the U.S on Dec. 24 and 25. While in medical surveillance, they had “conducted unnecessary activities,” according to a government statement posted late Monday.
While the statement did not name their employer, the arrests came after flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said it had fired two crew members for breaching coronavirus protocols. Both later tested positive for the omicron variant.
Cathay previously said the actions of the crew who had broken coronavirus protocols was “extremely disappointing” and apologized for the disruption. The company had to cut back on flights — both passenger and cargo — in January amid tightened virus curbs.
The duo have been released on bail and will have their case heard in court on Feb. 9. If convicted of violating anti-epidemic regulations, they could face up to 6 months imprisonment and a fine of up to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars ($642).
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Hong Kong has been grappling with a local omicron outbreak traced to several Cathay Pacific crew members who had dined at bars and restaurants across the city before later testing positive for the omicron variant.
Previously in Hong Kong, certain air and sea crew members could isolate at home under certain quarantine exemptions. Regulations tightened Dec. 31 require crew members to isolate in a designated quarantine hotel for about a week to safeguard public health.
Hong Kong police raid online news outlet, arrest 6
Hong Kong police were raiding the office of an online news outlet on Wednesday after arresting six people for conspiracy to publish a seditious publication.
More than 200 officers were taking part in the search, police said. They had a warrant to seize relevant journalistic materials under a national security law enacted last year.
The six were arrested early Wednesday under a colonial-era crimes ordinance for conspiracy to publish a seditious publication, and searches of their residences were underway, police said.
According to the local South China Morning Post newspaper, police arrested one current and one former editor at Stand News, as well as four former board members including singer and activist Denise Ho.
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Police did not identify those who were arrested but Stand News posted a video on Facebook of police officers at the home of a deputy editor, Ronson Chan, to investigate the alleged crime. Chan is also chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Stand News earlier this year said it would suspend subscriptions and remove most opinion pieces and columns from its website due to the national security law. Six board members had also resigned from the company.
The arrests come as authorities crack down on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Police charged former newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai with sedition on Tuesday. His Apple Daily newspaper shut down after its assets were frozen.
They also follow the removal of sculptures and other artwork from university campuses last week. The works supported democracy and memorialized the victims of China’s crackdown on democracy protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Last monument for Tiananmen massacre removed in Hong Kong
A monument at a Hong Kong university that was the best-known public remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil was removed early Thursday, wiping out the city’s last place of public commemoration of the bloody 1989 crackdown.
For some at the University of Hong Kong, the move reflected the erosion of the relative freedoms they have enjoyed compared to mainland China.
The 8-meter (26-foot) -tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschioet to symbolize the lives lost during the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.
”They are sending a signal to the students that it is over with the (Hong Kong) democracy movement and that it is over with free speech in Hong Kong,” Galschioet said of the monument’s removal.
The university said it asked that the sculpture, which had been standing on its campus for more than two decades, be put in storage because it could pose “legal risks.”
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“No party has ever obtained any approval from the university to display the statue on campus, and the university has the right to take appropriate actions to handle it at any time,” it said in a statement after its removal.
Each year on June 4, members of the now-defunct student union would wash the statue to commemorate the massacre. The city, together with Macao, were the only places on Chinese soil where commemorations of the crackdown were allowed.
Authorities have banned annual Tiananmen candlelight vigils for two consecutive years and shut down a private museum documenting the crackdown. The group that organized the annual vigil and ran the museum, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, has since disbanded, with some of its key members behind bars.
The dismantling of the sculpture came days after pro-Beijing candidates scored a landslide victory in Hong Kong legislative elections, following amendments to election laws allowing the vetting of candidates to ensure they are “patriots” loyal to Beijing.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam traveled to Beijing this week to report on developments in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, where authorities have silenced dissent following Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law that appeared to target much of the pro-democracy movement following mass protests in 2019.
The Pillar of Shame became an issue in October, when activists and rights groups opposed a university demand that it be removed following “the latest risk assessment and legal advice.” Galschioet offered to take it back to Denmark provided he would not be prosecuted under the national security law, but has not succeeded so far.
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Galschioet said he has been promised a spot for the sculpture in a park across from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was also offered places in Norway, Canada and Taiwan.
He compared the removal of the sculpture to “driving a tank through Arlington Cemetery,” a burial ground for American war veterans.
“Grave desecration is also very frowned upon in China, but that’s really what it is. It is almost a sacred monument,” he told The Associated Press. “It is a a sculpture for those who died.”
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said its removal was another worrying development in Hong Kong.
“The Danish government cannot decide which art other countries’ universities choose to exhibit. But for me and the government, the right to speak peacefully -- through speech, art or other means -- is a completely fundamental right for all people. This is also true in Hong Kong,” he said.
Billy Kwok, a University of Hong Kong student, said the Pillar of Shame has been treated as part of the university by many who studied there.
“It’s the symbol of whether (there is still) ... freedom of speech in Hong Kong,” he said.
An employee at the university, Morgan Chan, said its removal “doesn’t mean that history will be erased, and removing the pillar doesn’t mean people won’t learn about the history.”
Wang Luyao, a student, had a more mixed reaction.
“To me, because I am from mainland China, perhaps my understanding of the Pillar of Shame is not as deep as the locals or students from Hong Kong and it is not that significant to me,” Wang said.
“For me, it’s like a landmark which provides an approach to understanding. For the University of Hong Kong, it should also be considered a landmark.”
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival: 'Rehana Maryam Noor' bags New Talent Award
Abdullah Mohammad Saad's film "Rehana Maryam Noor" added another feather to its cap – "New Talent Award" at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2021 – Monday.
The festival jury board officially announced the movie as the winner of this special on its social media channels.
Other movies that competed in this category were "Ballad of a White Cow (Iran)," "Costa Brava (Lebanon)," "Kim Min-young of the Report Card (South Korea)," "Increasing Echo (Taiwan)," "Shankar's Fairies (India)" and "White Building (Cambodia)."
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"'Rehana Mariyam Noor' creates a vividly claustrophobic and oppressive environment in which an individual is pushed to the edge of her sanity. Driven by dynamic handheld camerawork, the cinematography plunges the viewer into the protagonist's difficult situation," the festival's jury board said.
"Azmeri Haque Badhon's superb performance evokes her character's heightened, intense emotional state, as she obsesses over her fight for her idea of justice."
Recently Saad, director of the film, won the Jury Grand Prize at the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) and Badhon received the award for the best actress.
The film was released last Friday in Bangladesh and is now successfully running across the country.
Nominated as the first Bangladeshi film to be screened in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the film received a standing ovation at its premiere.
Also read: 'Rehana Maryam Noor': Badhan, Saad win accolades at Asia Pacific Screen Awards
After Cannes, "Rehana Maryam Noor" was invited to Melbourne, Busan and London Film Festivals.
The film has been officially nominated for the upcoming Oscars 2022 as the official movie of Bangladesh.
BGMEA urges consul general in Hong Kong to support buyers more
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has requested the consul general of Bangladesh in Hong Kong to extend more support and services to buyers, especially in obtaining a visa to visit Bangladesh for meeting their apparel suppliers.Israt Ara, director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consul general designate to Hong Kong, paid a courtesy visit to BGMEA President Faruque Hassan in Dhaka Monday.
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Faruque congratulated Israt on her new appointment as the consul general in Hong Kong, a major trading hub where most of the apparel brands have regional offices.He also called on her to cooperate with the members of the BGMEA who need to visit Hong Kong to participate in international apparel exhibitions.
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The fairs provide a great opportunity for the garment manufactures of Bangladesh to have business interactions with potential buyers, he added.BGMEA Vice-President Miran Ali was also present.
Women's Football: Sabina scores hat-trick as Bangladesh crush Hong Kong 5-0
A brilliant hat-trick by captain Sabina Khatun helped the touring Bangladesh national women's football team earn a 5-0 victory over Hong Kong in a friendly match at the JAR Academy Training Ground in the Uzbek capital Tashkent Sunday.
With the day's well-deserved victory over higher-ranked Hong Kong, Bangladesh found some relief after their frustrating performance in the just-concluded Group G matches of the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022 qualifiers against Jordan and Iran in Tashkent last week.
The national women's football team suffered a 0-5 defeat against both Jordan and Iran in Tashkent.
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In Sunday's match against Hong Kong, Tohura Khatun opened the score for Bangladesh in the18th minute. Sabina Khatun made a hat-trick, scoring the remaining four goals in the 43rd, 53rd, 57th and 85th minutes.
Earlier, the women's team played two FIFA Tier-1 international friendlies against Nepal in Kathmandu recently as a part of their preparations for this month's AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.
Bangladesh conceded a 1-2 defeat against the hosts in the first match and played out to a goalless draw in the second one.
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The matches were the first international fixtures for the national women's team in more than two and a half years after playing the semifinal of the SAFF Championship against India in March 2019.
Hong Kong newspaper increases print fivefold after arrests
Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily increased its print run more than fivefold to 500,000 copies as residents lined up Friday to buy the paper in a show of support for beleaguered press freedoms, a day after police arrested five top editors and executives.
The raid on the paper’s offices by hundreds of police and security agents — along with the freezing of $2.3 million worth of its assets — marked the first time a sweeping national security law has been used against the media. It was the latest sign of a widening crackdown on civil liberties in the semi-autonomous city, which has long cherished freedoms that don’t exist elsewhere in China.
Police said the editors were arrested on suspicion of foreign collusion to endanger national security, based on over 30 articles that authorities said had called for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong.
On Friday, the National Security Department charged two men with collusion with a foreign country to endanger national security, according to a government statement. The two will appear in court on Saturday.
It did not name them, but the South China Morning Post newspaper cited an unnamed source saying they are Apply Daily’s chief editor Ryan Law and Cheung Kim-hung, the CEO of Apple Daily’s publisher Next Digital. The other three were being detained for investigation.
With anti-government protests silenced, most of the city’s prominent pro-democracy activists in jail and many others fleeing abroad, people snapped up copies at newsstands and in convenience stores.
“There are lots of injustices in Hong Kong already. I think there are a lot of things we cannot do anymore,” said resident Lisa Cheung. “Buying a copy is all what we can do. When the law cannot protect Hong Kong people anymore, we are only left to do what we can.”
The front page of Friday’s edition splashed images of the five editors and executives led away in handcuffs. Police also confiscated 44 hard drives worth of news material. A quote from Cheung, the arrested CEO of Next Digital, said “Hang in there, everyone.”
Another resident, William Chan, said he bought a copy of the paper as a show of support.
“It was such a groundless arrest and suppressed freedom of the press,” he said.
The national security law was imposed after massive protests in 2019 challenged Beijing’s rule by calling for broader democratic freedoms. It outlaws subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign countries. The maximum penalty for serious offenders is life imprisonment.
READ: Editors of Hong Kong newspaper arrested under security law
Security Minister John Lee had on Thursday warned other journalists to distance themselves from those under investigation at Apple Daily. He said those arrested had used journalistic work to endanger national security and that anyone who was “in cahoots” with them would pay a hefty price.
The United States, which has imposed sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials over the crackdown, strongly condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of the five arrested.
“We are deeply concerned by Hong Kong authorities’ selective use of the national security law to arbitrarily target independent media organizations,” State Department spokesman Price said, adding that the suspected foreign collusion charges appear to be politically motivated.
“As we all know, exchanging views with foreigners in journalism should never be a crime,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a tweet that freedom of the press is one of the rights China had promised to protect for 50 years when Britain handed over Hong Kong in 1997.
“Today’s raids & arrests at Apple Daily in Hong Kong demonstrate Beijing is using the National Security Law to target dissenting voices, not tackle public security,” Raab said.
European Union spokesperson Nabila Massrali said that the arrests “further demonstrate how the National Security Law is being used to stifle media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.” Media freedom and pluralism are fundamental to Hong Kong’s success under the “one country, two systems” framework, she said.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian rejected the foreign criticism and defended the government’s action, repeating China’s insistence that the national security targets only a “small group of anti-China elements who disrupted Hong Kong and endangered the national security of the country.”
“No right or freedom, including freedom of the press, can break through the bottom line of national security,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing.
“Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong, Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs, and no country, organization or individual has the right to intervene,” he said.
Apple Daily has pledged to readers that it will continue its reporting, and on Thursday night invited members of the media to its printing presses to watch its Friday edition roll off the press in a show of commitment.
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Its founder Jimmy Lai is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence on charges of playing a part in unauthorized protests in 2019, and faces further charges under the national security law that could potentially put him away for life.
The paper’s average daily circulation has been around 86,000 copies.